Air-ship.



B. F. SEYMOUR.

AIR SHIP. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 9, 1908.

937,187. r Patented Oct. 19, 1.909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES: IN VEN TOR.

-1 Seymour A TTORNE Y.

B. F. SEYMOUR.

' AIR SHIP. APPLICATION nun fun. 9, 1908.

937,187. Patented Oct. 19,1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. [\1

WITNESSES: 11v VENTOR.

g y w M v 51 \Sefm'our PATENT oration.

BENJAMIN F. SEYMOUR, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

AIR-SHIP.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. SEY- MOUR, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Ships, of which the following is a specification.

ThlS 1nvent1on relates readily ascend or descend by simple mechanical means, and without resort to' the use of a gaseous fluid as in the so-called dirigible balloons and which while floating in the atmosphere, may be propelled horizontally in any desired direction regardless of adverse air currents, or other impeding influences of the elements. I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanymg drawings 1n the' var1ous views of which like parts i are similarly designated and in which Figure 1 represents a plan vlew of. the

apparatus, Fig. 2 aside elevation thereof,

Fig. 3 a horizontal section taken on a plane I 33, Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 a central vertical section, Fig. 5, an enlarged, partly sectional elevation of-one of the speed varying apparatus included in the construction, Fig. 6 an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional elevation of the driven shaft and the sliding sleeve which forms part of the speed varying apparatus, Fig. 7- a fragmentary plan "iew' of the said shaft, sleeve and therewith associated parts, and Fig. 8 an enlarged viewv of one of the vanes of the lifting propellers, in a rearwardly tilted position, and Fig. 9- an end view of the same.

The vessel, as illustrated in the drawings, consists of a structure composed of three decks 5, 6 and 7, held in parallel relation to each other by means of mterposed vertical pillars 8. The three decks are alike and regular in contour, each being formed with a circular center portion and four arms, ranging radially therefrom at right angles to each other. i The central portion of the lower or engine deck supports a turbine or rotary motor 4 which may be actuated by steam explosive gas, compressed airor other Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 9, 1908; Serial No. 410,040.

to improvements in" air ships, its ob ect being to provlde an .aerlal vessel WlllCh may be operated to sired manner and, as the shape orapplication thereof is immaterial and does not form partof my invention, the said source of supply has not been illustrated in the drawmgs.

. Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

' The motor 4 may be of any suitable con- I struction, preference being had to a turbine in which a driven element 9 has a rotative movement in a circular housingv 10 and around a core 11 and which is provided upon its upper surface with a circular gear or rack 12 through the instrumentality of which the rotary motion of the element is transmitted to the various propellers by means of which the vessel is operated.

Revolubly mounted in the upper portion of the core 11 of the turbine and in journal bearings 13on the arms 5 of the lower deck are four shafts 14, arranged at right angles to each other and each carrying a gear 15 which meshes into the circular rack 12 on the revoluble element 9 of the motor. These gears are longitudinally adjustable on the respective shafts for the purpose of varying the velocity of the latter in ratio to the speed of the turbine, and they are controlled by means of hand levers 16 upon the intermediate or operating deck 6, with which they are associated by means of levers 17 and connecting rods 18.

The speed varying contrivance 15 which has been illustrated in detail in Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive of the drawings, consists of a hollow conical gear whose globular eX- tremity 36 .is movably disposed within a correspondingly shaped socket 37 at the end of a sleeve 38 which surrounds the shaft 14. The latter is formed with a series of longitudinally extending equidistant flutes 39 and the gear 35 has at the juncture of its conical portion with the globular extremity 36, a series of inwardly projecting teeth 40 which are adapted to' mesh with the aforementioned flutes. The shaft 14 is furthermore provided with two grooves41 winding spiwhich connects with the before-mentioned lever 17. The collar 44 is formed with laterally and oppositely extending lips/ and its movement upon the sleeve is limited so that at all times one or the other of the two dogs -12 is in the depressed position in which it engages the respective spiral groove +11. The conical portion of the gear 15 has upon its peripheral surface, a plurality of series of circularly arranged equidistant teeth which are adapted to separately mesh with those of the circular rack 12. Premising that the rack 12 travels at a uniform rate of speed, the velocity of the shaft 14 ma be varied b Y movin the ear 15 lon itudinally so as to bring a. circumferentially smaller or larger series of teeth in engage ment with those of the rack and the movement of the gear is accomplished through the instrumentality of the lever 17 and the therewith associated parts. lVhen the collar 4.4 is in its middle position on the sleeve 38, both the dogs #12 project into the respective grooves all and the sleeve and the therewith connected cone are, in consequence locked against longitudinal movement. By moving the collar laterally one way or the other, one of the dogs. is disengaged from the respective 'groove,-as is shown in Fig. 5 and the rotative movement of the shaft 14 will be transposed into a longitudinal movementof the sleeve 3S'in .the direction in which the spiral groove 4:1 engaged by the opposite dog, winds.

Beveled gears 19 mounted upon the shafts 14 mesh into corresponding gears 20 at the lower extremities of vertical shafts 21 which projecting through-the middle and upper.

decks of the structure, carry upon their upper ends the propeller wheels 22, which cooperatively constitute the ascending and descending-medium of the-apparatus. Each of devices 25 identical to those which engage the circular rack 12, and likewise connected by means of levers 26- and rods 27, with op. erating levers 28, which are supported upon the middle deck 6.

Detailed representation of the transmission members 15 and 25 has been omitted from the drawings as their construction has been made the subject ofa separate application for patent filed by ,me inthe United Stetes Patent Office on the twelfth day of December, 1907, Serial. Number 406,193.

The transmission gears 25 operatively en.-

gage spur wheels 30, which are mounted upon horizontal shafts 31, rotatably supported in suitable bearings 32 upon the outer portions of the arms 53 of the deck 5 and below the shafts 14. The shafts 31 projecting beyond the outer extremities of the arms 5 carry at their-ends, screw-propellers 29 which, rotating in vertical planes, are em- ,ployed to propel the vessel horizontally and which furthermore perform the function of steering the vessel in any. desired direction while floating in the atmosphere.

The manner in which the vessel is operated is as follows: To ascend, the operator of the vessel occupying a position on the middle deck in proximity to the hand levers by ,which the speed varying transmission devices are controlled, .brii gs .the gears 15 by means of which the propellerwheels 22 are actuated, in operative engagement with the circular rack 12 after which the motive fluid is directed from the source of supply to the turbine causing the rotary motion of its revolubl e element. The reason of the great difference in circumferential dimensions of the driving gear 12 and the driven gears 15, the rotary movement of the latter will effect a many times greater velocity of the wheels 22 and it is this great velocity together with the peculiar shape of the wings 23 and the form of the decks of the vessel which per mits unobstructed vertical motion of the air displaced by the movement of the horizontal propellers that will cause the vessel to rise against the gravitative force of its own weight which, it will be understood, is made as light as is possible with regard to strength and durability. After the vessel, has as cended to the of the propellers may be diminished by adjustment of the speed varying gears 15 and one of the vertical propellers is actuated to propel the vessel in the direction in which it is desired to travel, the speed of the propeller being regulated by adjustment of the respective gear. 25.

To vary the direction of'travel of the vessel or to counteract currents of air which tend to deviate it from its course, one or both of the side propellers may be put in motion and when itis desired to reverse the direction, the forward propeller is actuated and that at the stern stopped. It will thus be observed that the arrangement of the various propelling wheels and the ready means for varying their .rotative velocity, provide absolute control of the operator over the movements of-the vessel either in a vertical or horizontal direction, thereby rendering the apparatus thoroughly practical under all conditions, and insuring great speed and utmost safety Having thus I claim 1s 1; An air ship comprising a suitable strucdescribed my inventioh what desired height, the velocity ture, means to: impart a ertical movement thereto, and four propellers arranged to independently rotate about horizontal axes ex tending from a common point at right angles to each other.

2. An air ship comprising a-suitable structure, means to impart a vertical movement thereto and four propellers arranged equidistantly from the center of the structure to rotate independently about horizontal axes ranging from the said center at right angles to each other. 7

3. An air ship comprising a suitable struc' ture and a lifting wheel mounted thereon to rotate in a horizontal plane and including a plurality of radiating wings each formed of a coniform sheet whose edges overlap in spaced relation to each other.

l. An air ship comprising a suitable structure, a motor thereon including a revoluble, horizontal, circular rack, lifting wheels arranged to rotate in a horizontal plane and transmission means adapted to transmit the motion of the said rack to the said wheels at any one of a plurality of different rates of speed.

5. An air ship comprising a suitable structure, a motor thereon including a revoluble horizontal, circular rack, propellers arranged to rotate independently about axes extending from a common point at right angles to each other and transmission means adapted to, transmit the motion of the said rack to the said propellers.

(3. An air ship comprising a suitable structure, a motor thereon including a-reyoluble,

horizontal, circular rack, propellers arranged to rotate independently about axes extending from a common point at right angles to each other and transmission means adapted to transmit the motion of the said rack to the said propellers at any one of apluralit-y of .right angles to each other, and transmission" means upon the said shafts, adapted to transmit the movement of the said rack to each of the said wheels and the said propellers at any one of a plurality of ates of speed.

I 8. An air ship comprising a suitable structure, a driving mechanism centrally mounted thereon, lifting wheels arranged to rotate about vertical axes equidistant from the center of the structure, propellers equidistant from the center of the structure mounted to rotate independently about-horizontal axes extending at right angles from the said center and transmission means operatively connecting the said'wheels and the said propellers with the said mechanism.

9. An air ship comprising a suitable structure and a lifting wheel mounted thereon to rotate in a horizontal plane, and including a hub and wings radiating therefrom and each formed of a spirally Wound, substantially coniform sheet, secured to the hub at its smaller end near its outer edge, whereby a current of air may pass continuously through its interior.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

A BENJAMIN F. SEYMOUR. \Vitnesses v G. J. ROLLANDET, K. M. STUMP. 

